Monthly Archives: July 2014

The Browning M1919 is classic machine gun widely used throughout the early to mid 20th century, but it’s not so common as an airsoft gun. Although there are several airsoft models available, you don’t typically see these on the field, generally due to their size and weight. The Viva Arms M1919 is designed as an airsoft gun utilizing a V7 gearbox. McCenzie Mento sent his Viva Arms M1919 out to be converted to use a PolarStar Fusion Engine as the V7 gearbox had broken apart. Machine guns are particularly well suited for HPA conversions like the Fusion Engine since they can handle a tremendous amount of rounds with little maintenance and no worries about the gearbox or piston breaking down.

To fit the Fusion Engine into the M1919, a special bracket was 3D printed so it can use the same mount points as the V7 gearbox. Also the bracket was enhanced to lock the hopup in a vertical position, increasing the consistency and reliability of the gun. The hopup in the gun is proprietary to the gun. It allows the BBs to feed from the top and it uses a set screw to adjust the hopup. A custom length 42mm (overall length) Fusion Engine nozzle was needed, and the bucking was swapped out for a Maple Leaf 75 degree bucking to improve the feed and accuracy of the gun.

The existing trigger switch mechanism was used and simply wired up to the mini circuit board attached to the Fusion Engine. The FCU was mounted inside of the main body of the gun, along with the box mag motor control unit. There is also plenty of room in the gun for the battery.

The original box mag mechanism couldn’t provide a lot of BB feed pressure causing the BBs to be chopped in the hopup. So it was swapped out and replaced with the same MAG box mag mechanism I use in my Nerf gun conversion, and the same one used on the M2 conversion. I 3D printed a feed bed to fit the M1919 box mag and also significantly increased the capacity of the magazine.

Adding the Fusion Engine into this M1919 has brought it back to life and now it’s truly a formidable defense and support weapon. Time for McCenzie to invest in a lot of BBs!